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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · hide · club · fork · wake · stick · chest · pound

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pound — a weight
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. club — for dancing
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. club — for golf
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. band — a music group
  16. fork — in a road
  17. club — a group
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fork — a garden tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com